Mike Piazza to Appear Onstage With Miami City Ballet

Miami City Ballet is about to have its own experience with dancing with the stars. Former All-Star catcher Mike Piazza (who, you might recall, was a Florida Marlins once for approximately a week) will join the production Slaughter on Tenth Avenue on May 3. ...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

April 3, 2013

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Miami City Ballet is about to have its own experience with dancing with the stars. Former All-Star catcher Mike Piazza (who, you might recall, was a Florida Marlins once for approximately a week) will join the production Slaughter on Tenth Avenue on May 3.

The former New York Met, however, will not be pulling on tights. Instead, he'll appear in a non-dancing role as a gangster. He'll dress in 1920s garb, say a few lines, and watch the rest of the performance from a seat onstage.

Piazza's 6-year-old daughter, Nicoletta, is a student at the Miami City Ballet School, and MCB's artistic director, Lourdes Lopez, persuaded Piazza to take the part.

"It's going to be a lot of fun seeing the reaction of my two little girls," Piazza said in a statement. "My oldest daughter is a student at Miami City Ballet School, and for her to have the opportunity to see Daddy onstage is my little gift. I'm looking forward to it."

We're not going to accuse Lopez of jock-sniffing, but since she took over as artistic director, the ballet has attracted some major-league interest. In February, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James posed with MCB dancers for promotional material.

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